The Only One Who Stayed
by ElleFreak
Summary: Cassian always came back for Jyn, until there was no point in running away. Then, he did something nobody before him did - he stayed with her.


Cassian Andor.

That's what Mon Mothma said the man's name was.

Jyn's stare was drained of any emotion, but out of each lurk of hers, she tried to deduce more information about the captain.

Know more about them than they do about you; a rule once heard from Saw.

Cassian Andor acted suspiciously casual, and Jyn could only suspect why the Rebellion was trying to delude her cautiousness by making a polite, young captain investigate her.

He thought he would get everything out of her easily?

In his dreams.

* * *

Jyn stared emptily at the door of the ship, twiddling a blaster.

Soon, she was going to meet Saw. After all these years... And then - maybe - she would reunite with her father; a prospect just as exciting as it was overwhelming. Jyn felt her breath becoming slightly more sharp and shallow than usual.

She glanced down at the weapon she was holding. Pleasant feeling of security. If, for example, the talkative droid got a little bit too cheeky, one pull should do it. Or just a threat, it didn't matter. At least, she was not defenseless.

Trust goes both ways, huh? Being able to rely on others must be a good feeling.

But first, you should always count on yourself.

* * *

Jyn breathed with difficulty, her eyes fixed on the point where the hologram of her father had disappeared moments ago. She didn't acknowledge either the deafening rumble, nor the shaking ground, the only thought her mind was able to process being: "My father is not a traitor. My father tried to save me. He is out there, waiting for me."

She felt a strong grip on her shoulder. Did someone come back for her?

Looking back, she saw Cassian. Was he talking about getting out? Now?

Only after a few seconds did she realise the odd noise coming from afar. The adrenaline rushed in her veins, her mind partly regaining consciousness. They had to escape.

Everything that happened later seemed only like a blurred mixture of screams, running, dust and fear; it felt like a couple of seconds - or hours - after seeing the hologram she was sitting in a shuttle, watching Jedha turn into dead, silent desolation.

There was one extraordinary thing about the whole situation, and as they flew, Jyn was trying to figure out what it was.

Of course. She didn't like the thought, but denying it would be in vain.

Someone came back.

Cassian came back.

* * *

Jyn squeezed herself into the darkest corner of the starting shuttle, gritting her teeth. A single tear escaped her swollen, tired eyes, mixing with the rainwater and sweat that covered her face. She was still in shock after witnessing her father's death. Still broken, remembering the feeling of his limp body in her arms.

She heard Cassian give some orders to K2 and clenched her fists, forcing herself not to leap up and harm him, let go of her fury, share her pain in the worst imaginable way.

Traitor.

Maybe not exactly, she thought sarcastically. He never actually betrayed her. He simply stayed loyal to his commanders and deceived her from the very beginning. He lied, hid the truth and manipulated her like the filthy, fake scum that he was.

Bleeding Rebellion. They were in fact nothing more than a bunch of criminals, murderers hiding themselves behind an imaginary shield of greater good.

She was never going to forgive Cassian.

She would rather die.

* * *

Jyn could not believe what she was seeing. That was the famous Rebellion? The people who thought they could overthrow the Empire?

Not with such attitude. Morons. Jyn struggled to stay diplomatic, or she was going to yell their stupidity right into their oblivious faces.

In desperation, she remembered the sentence she was sure would convince them.

"We have hope." Her voice was clear and strong. "Rebellions are built on hope."

If only Cassian had been there to see her.

* * *

"Welcome home," said Cassian, and she leaned even closer, subconsciously, endeared by the subtlety and openness she had never expected from him.

Maybe there was more sense to his words than she supposed? Maybe he really understood?

It didn't really matter if he did, because with those two simple words about home, she really felt like she was in it.

* * *

"Cassian!"

A high squeak escaped her mouth as her partner's body fell down; her muscles tensed each time he hit another fragment of the construction, and finally landed motionlessly on a platform. For a moment, she felt dizzy.

 _"Don't you leave me now!"_ she thought in desperation.

So now it was just her, alone as always. Jyn Erso against the rest of the world; no different from the rest of her life.

She'd been a fool to have expected anything else.

* * *

Krennic groaned, falling suddenly to the ground, wearing a grimace of pain on his face. Jyn's eyes widened in disorientation while they swept around, searching for her saviour.

Leaning against a nearby column, covered in blood and bruises, panting heavily with a smoking blaster in his hands, was nobody else than Cassian Andor.

He saved her life.

He stayed with her.

* * *

Jyn held Cassian's hand and turned her gaze toward the horizon again.

It would be like going to sleep after a very long, tiring day. And if there was one person she would share this journey with, it was him.

The only one who stayed with her to take it.

 **A/N: Reviews are appreciated!**  
 **This piece was beta read by Sabrina06.** **I don't own Star Wars, _Rogue One_ , any of the characters or events, as they belong to Lucasfilm and Disney.**


End file.
